Find an audio slideshow about Matt Nead and his dirt bike at ballbearingsonline.com.
On a day where most students are putting off studying or unlocking another achievement on their Xbox 360, Matt Nead can be found on the track with friends or fixing his dirt bike in his backyard.
Nead is a senior entrepreneurship major with an interesting hobby: motocross. Since picking up a dirt bike magazine in the sixth grade, he's been hooked.
What started as a pastime has turned into his passion.
Nead's dedication to the sport is obvious. Even after a bad crash during a 2009 race that resulted in an ongoing shoulder injury and the toll his hobby takes on his bank account, Nead remains passionate and excited about riding.
"Being on my dirt bike, it's like nothing else matters," Nead said. "It's the thrill of flying over a jump, roosting one of your friends or battling with your buddies. It takes away everything else I have to worry about during the week."
While Nead isn't planning on pursuing a professional racing career, he intends to incorporate his passion for the sport into his future plans. As an entrepreneurship major, Nead is required to write a business plan, and he used his dream of opening a motocross track and training facility in Texas as the basis for his project.
Relating his motocross hobby to his studies is a way for Nead to stay connected to the motocross world despite being a full-time student.
"Staying involved in the sport while I'm at school is pretty hard, especially now that I'm a senior, we're so busy. I still try and make it to one race a month. I watch it on TV. I'll catch up with friends that are racing and see how their race went," he said. "Things like that keep me involved with the sport until I'm done with school or at least until Spring Semester when I can buy a new bike and get back into competitive racing."
After buying his first dirt bike in 2008, Nead joined the competitive motocross circuit by racing at the amateur level in local and regional races.
It doesn't take much for someone who is interested in racing dirt bikes to get involved with the sport, Nead said. Sanctioned races require membership in the American Motorcyclist Association, which charges dues of $40 per year. Depending on the region where the race is located, additional membership in the local district might be required.
"There's classes for all skill levels, ages and bike sizes, so it just depends on where you're at," Nead said.
Although Nead is currently riding a Kawasaki pit bike, he normally competes in the 250cc class at races.
"I'm only a C-rider, which is basically the beginner-novice class," he said. "I've only been riding for two years, so it's a developmental class more than anything."
As a C-class rider, you can then advance to B-class and A-class. Beyond A-class you'll find the pros such as Jeremy McGrath and Ricky Carmichael, both of whom Nead admires for their record and skill on the track.
McGrath is known as the "King of Supercross" for his impressive 72 main event wins, and Carmichael is known as the "G.O.A.T" -- Greatest of All Time. For Nead, pretty much anyone who has made it in the sport is an influence.
"Any pro racer, I've looked up to them. Whether they're at the top of the podium or the back of the pack, they're still there and they're still a professional," he said.
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